Kristine Hartmann, new CEO of SalMar's Salmon Living Lab
Photo: SalMar Aker Ocean.
Kristine Hartmann is the new CEO of SalMar's Salmon Living Lab initiative, the company announced in its quarterly update released today.
The new role sees Hartmann move on from her role as Development Director at offshore salmon farming joint venture SalMar Aker Ocean, a post she has held since January 2022.
Prior to her most recent position at SalMar Aker Ocean, Hartmann held several executive roles, as Chief Operating Officer for C4IR Ocean (now HUB Ocean), and before that, EVP Transformation and VP Business Process Improvement at Aker Biomarine.
She also served for several years on the board of Sjømat Norge, the national association for the Norwegian fishing and aquaculture industry, and as Board Chair at Norwegian king crab company MS Donna AS.
According to the Salmon Living Lab website, Hartmann will draw on her "strong experience with scale-ups, working at the intersection of industry, regulation, and NGOs" to lead the project.
In March 2024, SalMar launched the ambitious NOK 500 million innovation and R&D initiative, aimed at finding and developing more sustainable solutions for salmon farming.
SalMar says the Salmon Living Lab initiative has "attracted strong interest from various companies in the value chain, NGOs and other stakeholders that are eager to contribute".
This includes feed supplier Cargill, who was the first partner to formally participate. The project aims to involve stakeholder collaboration across the salmon supply chain, and also intends to construct an innnovation centre to "function as a focal point for knowledge".
According to the Salmon Living Lab website, the key work tasks now on Hartmann's agenda include contacting all relevant interested participants, prioritizing projects to be included to close knowledge gaps, initiating the process for beginning construction of the innovation center, and communicating key milestones.